Summer of '99
by VirginiaLover
Summary: Two best friends. A summer that will change everything. Bella and Alice have been best friends their entire lives. They tell each other everything, and keep each other's deepest secrets. But when Alice decides she wants to change, will Bella get left behind? On Temp. Hiatus.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So, I started posting this story last year around this time before I took it down. I got too excited and started posting before I had the full plot and timeline figured out. I am currently working on edits and rewrites, and I am hoping that by posting this, it will help motivate me to finish them.**

 **This story is basically completed. Like I said, I am working on edits. There are some chapters that I am working at the beginning that I am adding, so the updates toward the beginning with be slower than later on.**

 **Also, my updates in general will be slower. I lost my grandfather on September 23, and my writing is the only thing keeping me sane. It is just a slower process right now.**

 **I also have another story that I just started, Nowhere Land. It a lot heavier than this one, and a bit too much for me to work on at the moment. It hits a little too close to home, but it is there if you want to read the first two chapters.**

 **This story will not be explicit, at least I don't think so. But, I am rating it M just in case.**

 **P.S. This story started out as an original fiction with my own names in it, so things will be changed some (ie. birthdays etc.) If there is a name in there that doesn't make sense I apologize, and I would appreciate it if you let me know so I can fix it.**

1

Bella

The day was hot, clothes sticking to you, sweat pouring down your face hot. Northern was an older high school, so it didn't have any air conditioning, which was killer when the heat settled in. The final bell had rung almost fifteen minutes ago at this point, and the hallways were deserted. The trashcans that the teachers had set out for students to throw their trash into were now overflowing; papers were now scattered across the floor of the hallway. Lockers were standing open, empty, their owners already vacated the area, ready to start their summer vacation. I slipped on one of the pieces of paper on my way over to the only other person here.

"I can't believe you're still here," I stopped at her locker, watching her finish pulling things out of her locker. "I cant believe you made _me_ stay here."

"Why are you in such a big hurry, got a hot date or something?" she smirked at me, zipping up her backpack and slinging it over her shoulder.

"Why are you so funny, Alice Cullen?" I rolled my eyes, mocking annoyance.

"Well, Bella Swan, if you find me so annoying, why hang out with me?" Alice started walking backward toward the exit, "Oh, right, you think that my brother is cute."

"Alice!" I whisper-yelled even though no one was around. It hadn't been a secret between us that I had a crush on Alice's older brother Edward since I was twelve; I just didn't want anyone else to know, especially Edward, and in this town, if one person found out, he would by the end of the day. Things seemed to spread faster when they were embarrassing deep, dark secrets.

Alice let out a laugh, "What are you fussing for? No one is around to hear anything, so don't worry."

I rolled my eyes, "Can we just get out of here? I am so ready to start my vacation."

"Yeah, let's go. We should stop at the 7Eleven on the way home. I could really use a slurpee and a _Seventeen_." Alice had a sweet tooth, a candy bracelet was a permanent fixture on her left wrist at all times.

" _Seventeen_?" I asked her. Usually, Alice was strictly a _Teen Beat_ reader.

"Yeah," she shrugged, "I want to reinvent myself."

"Reinvent yourself?" I eyed her warily, not sure what to make of what she had just told me. "How?"

"I don't know. That's why I need a _Seventeen_. I want boys to notice me, and that will tell me how to do it." she said the words so matter-of-factually, like they weren't foreign.

I just looked at her like she had grown two heads, "Um.. then it's me that needs it, because I've seen plenty of guys giving you attention." Alice was a pretty girl with long black hair, gray eyes, and tan skin, and despite her short stature, she looked like she could be a super model, and most of the male population noticed. She was the exact opposite of my frizzy brown hair that I kept in a ponytail at all times, brown eyes, and pale, freckled skin. Alice obviously didn't see herself clearly. But that's just it, no girl ever sees themselves for how they really were.

Alice pinched my arm, making me flinch and rub the now tender spot on my arm. "They do not."

"Yes, they do."

We made our way out of the door, going down the front steps of the school to the bike rack.

"Name one." she challenged as we both unlocked our bikes.

"Jasper Whitlock." I came back quickly. The guy couldn't keep his eyes off of her whenever she was in the room.

She made a face, clearly not happy with my choice. He wasn't the one that that she cared about noticing her. She wanted Peter Evans, the biggest player in the entire school. He'd "dated" more girls then could be counted, but Alice still pined after him like a lovesick puppy despite knowing her was like. I think that it went back to the game of truth or dare we played one night at her house when we were in sixth grade. Peter and Edward used to be friends, and one night we decided to play a game. All four of us were bored and there's an unwritten rule somewhere that says that you can't do to bed at a reasonable hour when staying at a friends house, and Edward dared Peter to kiss Alice, which he did because you can't back out of a dare. Ever since then she'd been in love with him.

"What's wrong with him?" I asked, starting to ride along side her to the 7Eleven that was about a mile from campus.

"He's just…..." Alice paused, looking for the right word, "a geek."

"Being in band does not make you a geek. He doesn't even wear glasses."

"I just… want a man to find me attractive."

I let out a snort, "None of the guys that we go to school with are men, not even the seniors."

Alice sighed, "Then what do you think makes a guy a man?"

"When they're in their twenties, have jobs, and have more than three facial hairs."

"Touche."

We rode the rest of the way to our destination in companionable silence, relishing in the fact that for the next three months, we were free of teachers and homework and people that thought they were better than everyone else.

The parking lot of the 7Eleven was mostly empty, only one car was in the lot, most likely belonging to the cashier on duty. We parked our bikes against the side of the red brick building beside the ice cooler. No words were spoken as we walked over to the machine that housed the ice cold, frothy goodness that we craved on a day as hot as this one. Both of us got the largest size available of the coca-cola flavor, piling it high.

I also went down the candy aisle, grabbing a bag of strawberry flavored Twizzlers on my way to the counter for the bored looking guy with long, tangled black hair to ring me up.

"Thank you," I said politely to him when he handed me the receipt, a grunt his only form of acknowledgment.

Alice was already outside waiting for me when I exited, reading the magazine that she had bought, heart shaped sunglasses over her eyes that she must have gotten from the rack while inside, steadily drinking from the straw between her lips.

"He was kind of rude," I leaned against the wall next to her, taking a drink from my own cup, feeling the cold liquid sliding down my throat, cooling me from the inside out.

"Mmm," was Alice's only reply, her straw never leaving her mouth as she continued reading the page she was on.

"Learning anything yet?" I peeked at the page the magazine was turned to, but the glare of the sun blinded me from the angle I was at, making me unable to read any of the words on the page.

"I'm only on the second page, so no, not yet anyway." she absently replied, her straw going back into her mouth.

I sighed, taking another sip of my drink, watching a car turn into the parking lot, taking the spot right in front of the door.

Peter Evans and his band of friends piled out of the car, walking right past us, talking and laughing amongst themselves. Alice's eyes were glued to the guy, admiring his tall frame, lean shoulders, and pale skin. His blonde hair was perfectly in place, his brown eyes covered by sunglasses, never giving her the time of day. Though, she didn't resemble the type of girl that he usually wen for. She didn't dress in tight clothing, or have big boobs, or wore makeup. The only thing cosmetic related that adorned her face was Lip Smackers vanilla lip balm. She was practically flat chested, not that that was a bad thing. Her clothing a modest pair of white shorts and hot pink t-shirt.

"Al," I waved my hand in front of her eyes as the guys disappeared inside the store, "you still there?"

"I'm still here," she gave me a non-convincing smile.

"We should go, my mom will be wondering where I am." I pushed off the wall, waiting for Alice to follow me.

"Yeah," Alice put her magazine in her bag, grabbing her bike. "Yeah, we should go."

We mounted our bikes, making a b-line for our neighborhood that was a few blocks away. The silence amongst us was different, not necessarily awkward, but not entirely comfortable. Things were changing, and I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was. It was quiet and sneaky, but undoubtedly there.

I looked at Alice, worried by her silence. The look on my best friend's face, a friend that I'd had since I could walk, was one that was only seen on someone who had lost their best friend, or after one discovered that their dog ran away and was never coming back. I'd never seen her look so… sad before.

"What's wrong?" I asked warily, not sure if I wanted to know or not.

"Nothing." she replied, never taking her eyes from the road in front of her.

I sighed, not believing for one second that she was fine. "You know I don't believe you."

It was her turn to sigh. She stopped peddling and looked at me, "Nothing's wrong. let's just drop it, okay?"

"Okay." I nodded, "You still want me to come over tonight, right?" It had been a yearly tradition of ours that we would have a sleepover on the first night of summer, alternating between each others houses every year, as a celebration that we had gotten through another school year.

"Of course!" she said without a hint of hesitation, "Unless you don't want to."

"No, I want to!" my voice went up an octave. The last thing that I wanted was for her to think that I didn't want to come over.

Alice got an amused expression, "Right, you need to see how cute my brother has gotten since lunch." Her favorite thing to do was to tease me about my attraction to her brother.

"Yeah, that's right." my voice was laced with sarcasm, a bright red blush coming to my cheeks that had nothing to do with the heat of the afternoon.

"Huh," Alice rode into her driveway, coming to a stop so she could face me. "I'll see you at six?"

"Yeah, I'll see you then."

We waved in parting, me riding just a few houses down from Alice's to my own and pulled into the driveway, dismounting my bike and walking it to its place in the open garage. my mom left it open every day when she got home from work, always forgetting to make sure that it was closed behind her.

Shaking my head, I hit the button for the garage, walking through the door in the back that opened into the kitchen, finding my mom at the counter, cutting potatoes up for the roast that she was making that for dinner.

"Hi, sweetie, how was your last day?" Mom stopped what she was doing, rubbing her hands on the dishtowel that she kept draped over her shoulder whenever she was cooking. Her flowing brown hair was pulled back into a bun to help her cool off from the stuffiness of our home.

"It was good," I took the bag of Twizzlers out of my backpack, taking one out and plopping myself on the counter next to where my mother was working.

"Are you still going to Alice's tonight, or do I have to make sure to make enough for you tonight at dinner?" Mom smirked at me, already knowing the answer.

"No," I took a bite of the strawberry flavored licorice, "I am still going over there. Did you even have to ask?"

My mother put her finger against her chin, acting like she had to think about it before she answered. "I guess not."

"When is dad getting home?" I watched her put the potatoes in the pan that already held the roast, onions, and carrots.

"Not until late. He called a few minutes ago. Sorry, sweetie."

My dad was a Sheriff Deputy with the Calvert County Police Department, his hours varying from one week to the other. The worst were the weeks he had to work nights; the house was always eerily quiet when he wasn't here.

"It's okay. I was just hoping that I would get to see him before I left." Me and my father had a creepy close connection. We were each others favorite person.

"I know, sweetheart." Mom gently bumped my chin with her slightly damp hand.

"I'm going to go pack."

I hoped down from her perch on the counter, taking my bag of Twizzlers from the table and running up the stairs to my room.

My bedroom was like any other teenage girl's in the late nineties; there were posters of N'SYNC and Backstreet Boys plastered all over her pastel yellow walls. My twin bed, which was permanently unmade, sat against the far-right wall under a window, the white sheets and old family quilt, which had been sewn by my grandmother, were rumpled. A nightstand with a lamp and cassette player sat next to the bed, the drawer filled to the top with cassettes. The floor was covered with clothes, shoes, and socks- the room wasn't dirty, just slightly messy. A vanity was on the opposite wall, a mostly unused bottle of perfume that my mother had gotten me for Christmas and some Lip Smackers littered the surface. Hair scrunchies were a permanent fixture on my bed posts for easy access. The room screamed just what my world had been: simplistic. I still thought of myself as a kid with summers filled with worn out cutoffs, tank tops, and my blue one-piece. Nothing had yet shattered my world of innocence.

I put my backpack down on the floor of my open closet, replacing it with my duffel bag. I worked quickly, filling it to the top with things that I would need for the night's stay: a couple bottles of nail polish, some older issues of magazines, and her favorite cassettes (Alice didn't have many due to her lack of interest in music).

Alice's parents were the opposite of mine, they were very conservative and had strict rules regarding where their kids could go and with whom. They forced their kids to endure church every Sunday, giving them no choice in the matter. It killed them the day that they realized that their children really had no interest. Their home was picturesque, with white walls and beige and brown furniture. It seemed as if the Cullen's never had any problems. Maybe that was why Alice was getting restless, she was feeling suffocated with no way out but to make one.

"Bella, I am so happy to see you!" Mrs. Cullen greeted me when I knocked, giving me a 1950s housewife smile. "How do you feel now that school is finally over?"

If there was one thing that I had learned over the years it was that Mrs. Cullen really liked to talk. "Great. I'm just happy that I don't have to get up early." I replied with a smile.

Mrs. Cullen laughed, "You sound like Edward."

I tried to laugh back, but it got stuck in my throat when she mentioned Edward's name, my palms getting sweaty at the possibility that he was home. He was an enigma to me, which only strengthened his appeal.

"Where's Alice?" I asked, looking around for my escape from the small talk.

Taking the hint, she replied, "I had her take out the trash, she should be back in a minute if you want to go up to her room."

"Thank you."

I made my escape quickly up the stairs to Alice's room, happy that I didn't have to make idle chit chat anymore. Mrs. Cullen had always been kind to me and welcomed me into their home without reservation, but I wasn't comfortable around her and I was never able to put my finger on why. Maybe it was because I knew that Mrs. Cullen didn't approve of my parents not taking me to church, I will never be able to forget the look on the woman's face when I told her that I had never stepped foot into a church in my life, I was afraid that my best friend's mom was going to have a heart attack. Ever since, it always seemed that Mrs. Cullen was trying to save my soul, like that was always the hidden goal behind our talks.

Alice's room was much like mine with posters of all the boy bands that she was currently obsessing over. Her walls were light pink in color (something that she despised, but her parents wouldn't allow her to paint), she had two small closets on either side of a window seat, the bottom of which was filled with books, an antique gold metal rail bed sat proudly in the middle of the room, white, lacey coverings adorned the full-size bed. She had a vanity as well with perfumes and body splashes on it. The only real difference between the two rooms was that Alice's was perfectly organized, no clutter in sight. Most likely her mother's doing. No teenager was this clean.

I took a seat on the bed, plopping myself down on the bed, my head coming down hard on one of the pillows, a crinkling sound coming from beneath me.

"What the heck?" I sat up, lifting the pillow to investigate the source.

What was revealed to me was the latest copy of _Cosmo,_ a female celebrity on the cover with blurbs surrounding her about how to have good sex and how to make your man worship you.

 _So, that's what she meant..._ , I thought as I continued to stare dumbly at the magazine, the type that sat water logged in my parent's bathroom from my mother reading them in bathtub, but was now under my best friends pillow. I felt even more uneasy by Alice's need to reinvent herself, obviously it involved something that I was too embarrassed to think about.

"Where is she?" Alice's voice came echoing from downstairs, bringing me out of my fog.

"She's in your room, sweetie!" Mrs. Cullen called back.

Quickly, while listening to Alice's pounding footsteps, I put the pillow back and sat on the edge of the bed, hoping to make it seem like I hadn't just seen something that I shouldn't have.

Alice appeared a moment later, breathing heavily from her short run up the stairs, "Hey." she smiled, sitting next to me, curling her legs beneath her. "Sorry about that. Apparently, the earth would've ended if the trash didn't go out tonight."

I waved my hand at her, "No big deal."

A while later we were listening to an older Backstreet Boys tape while Alice sat on the floor painting my toenails a bright red.

"I finished reading that copy of _Seventeen_." Alice announced out of the blue as she finished up my right foot and moving on to the left.

"That was fast," I commented, looking down at Alice, "You're really set on this, aren't you? Reinventing yourself."

Alice dipped the brush back in the polish, running it along the rim of the opening to get the extra off of the brush. "Don't you want to grow up and have a boyfriend?" she looked up at me.

I sighed, "Of course I do," my eyes drifted to the pillow covering the _Cosmo_. "I just don't want to grow up too fast is all."

Alice sighed, finishing up my left foot. "I'm not growing up too fast. I'm just taking charge of my life."

I was about to say something about finding the magazine under Alice's pillow, but before I could, the door opened quietly and Alice's mom stuck her head in.

"Pizza is here, girls." Mrs. Cullen spoke quietly.

Alice put the brush back into the bottle of polish, "We'll be right down, mom." she smiled at her mother who left without shutting the door, then turned to me. "You're so lucky that you're mom knocks."

We walked downstairs to the immaculately decorated dining room. The walls were painted a warm beige color (it was the only room, other than the bedrooms, that wasn't white). In the middle of the room was a dining table that could seat eight people, the wood was a dark oak finish with wing back chairs. A china closet sat on one side of the room, displaying antique dishes that had been passed down from generation to generation. On the other side sat a wooden, dark oak dresser that held all their place settings. There was a maroon colored runner along the top with candles sticks on either side of a decorative bowl of fruit. The real center piece of the room was the shimmering crystal chandelier, the lights shining through them, making colors bounce off the walls.

"Hi, Bella. Nice to see you." Mr. Cullen patted me on the shoulder, setting a plate in front of me where I had taken a seat next to Alice on the left side of the table. "How are you?"

"Good." I replied graciously.

Mr. Cullen was an easy person to like. He was tall, with graying dirty blonde hair, five o'clock shadow, and nice slacks, light blue shirt, and a navy-blue tie with strips that he had yet to take off. He was very charismatic, making it easy to see how he had become the number one salesman at the company he worked for, making employee of the month several times throughout the year and earning himself a nice bonus. He taught Sunday school every week to high school age kids and ran the church's talent shows and plays. Whenever they needed a volunteer, he was there along with his wife.

"How are your parents?" Mrs. Cullen asked me once they had started eating.

I nodded while I swallowed, "They're good. My dad's been working late so I think my mom's gets a little lonely sometimes."

Mrs. Cullen wiped her mouth, "Well, tell your mom that I said hi and that I would love to get together and have lunch sometime. It has been a long time since we sat down and talked." she finished with a smile.

"I will." I agreed. "She was saying the other day that you two had some catching up to do."

"Fantastic!" Mrs. Cullen went back to her meal with a soft smile on her face, pleased with the response that she and her old friend would be getting together for a good, long, overdue talk.

"Things are really coming together for this month's Coffee House." Mr. Cullen started. Coffee House was a talent show type thing that they're church put on every month or so. They would serve coffee while all the teens and kids involved with the youth group would perform. "All the kids are really talented." he took a sip of his drink. "You should come check it out," he spoke to me, "I think that you'd enjoy watching it."

"Dad!" Alice scolded. It made her uncomfortable when her parents thought of ways to try to weasel her nonreligious friend into church.

Mr. Cullen sighed, "I was just making a comment, Alice. She doesn't have to if she doesn't want to."

"Actually, it sounds kind of cool." I commented, trying to diffuse the situation before it got heated.

Alice gave me a look that said, 'what the heck'.

"It does," I shrugged.

The rest of dinner past by quietly, ending with Alice's parents clearing the dishes, and then the two adults called it an early night at nine o'clock, leaving the us alone until Edward got home from his job at one of the local grocery stores.

The two of us were sitting with a bowl of popcorn between us, the blanket that we had been curled up under covering our eyes as we watched _Scream_ on one of the premium movie channels. When the front door opened, we both jumped and screamed, popcorn flying everywhere.

"Sorry," Edward said, closing the door behind him, looking at the TV to see what had gotten us so on edge. "Do mom and dad know that you are watching an R rated movie?"

"Do mom and dad know that you got off an hour before you said you did?" Alice came back at him with a smirk. "You're just lucky mom isn't here to smell the pot on you."

"What did you have for dinner?" he asked, ignoring her threat.

"Pizza. There is still some left in the fridge if you want it." Alice replied, eating a piece of the rogue popcorn that had ended up in her hair.

"He smokes pot?" I asked, popping a piece of popcorn into her mouth after he had left the room.

Alice nodded, playing with the candy bracelet and taking a bite. "Sometimes when he works late, but not often. One of his work buddies has a hook up." she knew that Edward liked to hang out after work with some of his co-workers and smoke to unwind, giving her the perfect ammunition if he crossed her. Their parents would have a field day sending him away to a Christian rehabilitation center for the summer to cure him of all the bad things the devil was making him do.

I nodded, taking in the new information about Edward that I hadn't known before, both of our attention going back to the movie, the blanket covering my eyes as ghost face jumped out of his hiding place to attack an unsuspecting victim.

 **A/N: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter, and I hope to see you for the next one.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I have gotten a few questions regarding how old Bella and Alice are, they are fifteen and just finished their freshmen year. I hope that clears up any confusion.**

 **I hope that you enjoy this chapter! See you next week.**

 **Happy reading!  
**

 **I had to come back and replace the chapter because I used the wrong names for Alice's parents. It slipped through the cracks. Thanks to the reviewer that let me know!**

2

Bella

It was around ten the next morning, when Alice's mom came and woke us up. To Mrs. Cullen, ten o'clock was practically sleeping the day away, and they had pancakes waiting for us downstairs that we shouldn't let get cold, she had added. At least that's what she said. I would have gladly let them get cold for another hour of sleep.

Edward wasn't at the breakfast table, much to my chagrin. Apparently, he had left a few minutes earlier with a friend, and wouldn't be back the rest of the day. I was more disappointed at this news than was necessary, because as a mildly obsessed stalker, I wanted to see him every chance that I got.

"Do you want to go to the river today?" Alice asked me while we were making the bed. Her mother insisted that it get down before we did anything else, much to our dismay. It was the first day of summer, and there were still so many things and possibilities to be taking advantage of, so, why would we want waste our time making the bed?

"Sure." I replied, tucking the sheet in on the side of the bed that I was working on. I didn't understand how Alice could sleep with it like that. I liked to be able to cocoon at night with my covers and sheet wrapped around me. "We could stop at the diner, too. We haven't done that in forever." Going to the diner used to be a regular thing for us, but had fallen by the wayside once the school year started, followed with the stress of high school and keeping up with classes, which was not something that we were really prepared for in middle school.

Alice's face lit up with a smile, "I have been wanting their chili cheese fries for a long time."

I left Alice's house shortly after to go change and put my swimsuit on. I also needed to tell my parents that I wouldn't be home until that evening.

My dad looked up from his book, taking his glasses off, but not moving from his relaxed position on the couch in our living room, watching me bound down the stairs. We looked exactly alike with our brown hair, brown eyes, and freckles.

"Hey there, long time no see. What's the big hurry?" his amusement was present in his voice.

"Nothing." I went over the back of the couch, looking down at my father. "Alice and I are going to the diner and then to the river."

"Am I ever going to have time to spend with my little girl, or are you too busy?" he patted my hand where it sat on the back of the couch.

I rolled her eyes, "Of course I have time. When's your next day off?"

"I have this whole weekend off. Your mom is getting together with Alice's mom tomorrow, so why don't we get lunch and hit up that used bookstore that you love so much. I know that you have to be getting low on books that you haven't read." He suggested.

I smiled, unable to contain the excitement I felt about being able to spend time with my dad. It had been months since we had been able to go out just the two of us, something that we always made a point to do at least once a month. "That sounds great."

My father looked satisfied as well, "Well, have fun today, but not too much."

"I won't." I leaned down and kissed him on the cheek before exiting the living room.

"Hey!" My mother called to me, making me turn around. She was standing, still in her pajamas and holding a cup of coffee, in the hallway leading to the kitchen. "Are you going to be home for dinner?"

"Yeah." I replied, nodding, to my mom.

"Okay, I just wanted to know how many I was cooking for tonight."

"Here," my dad appeared in front of me, handing me a twenty-dollar bill, "On me."

"Thanks!" I left the house, grabbing my bike, and went to meet Alice.

The two of us arrived at the local diner in five minutes, leaning our bikes against the side of the silver building and going inside, taking a seat at the counter. A woman with red hair pulled back from her face and wearing a fifties inspired uniform came toward us, her sleepy eyes looking down at her pad the entire time. We ordered two cokes and an order of chili cheese fries to share. We thanked the waitress when she brought us back our drinks.

We ate our lunch while quietly chatting amongst ourselves and watching the people around us come and go. Several kids from our school were there as well, enjoying the first day of summer on this very warm Saturday. Once we finished, I paid the bill with the money that my father had given me.

We walked out of the diner into the humid, hot air and grabbed our bikes. I stopped in my tracks, my eyes glued on Edward across the street. He was wearing jeans and a white t-shirt. A girl with strawberry blonde hair and a short pink dress stood next to him with her hand holding onto his forearm as they both looked into the movie store window, Edward laughing at something that she said as they moved along down the sidewalk, her hand never leaving his arm.

 _Some friend._

Alice, having taken in my disappointed expression, said: "They're not together. They were lab partners last year, they just hang out sometimes. They're not dating."

"It doesn't matter," I got on my bike. "He doesn't notice me anyway. To him, I am nothing more than his baby sister's friend." I sighed, looking at Alice, burying the sadness that I felt over seeing him with another girl down deep. "Let's go."

I didn't wait for an answer before I started down the road to the river.

When we got to the slender dirt road that led to the river that was about a mile from the diner, we got off our bikes and walked single file down the lane. Leaves covered the path along with branches that had broken off during the winter storms; clearly no one had been down this way yet this year due to how unseasonably cold it had been.

The river was peaceful, the sound of it lapping against the shore was relaxing, the quietness soothing. No one else was there, giving us the two miles stretch of shore to ourselves. The area was still untouched from the previous summer, the only signs that human life had been there was the small amount of trash and leftover burned wood from bon fires.

Within moments our bikes were perched against a tree, our towels were taken from the baskets on the front of them and were laid out on the ground, and the finishing touch, a _Seventeen_ magazine whose edges were now curled up from multiple readings, a few corners turned down so that section could be easily found again.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked, leaning back on my arms with my legs crossed at the ankles, sitting on my flowered, hot pink beach towel.

"Sure." Alice looked up from the magazine she was flipping through.

"What prompted this whole thing?" I pointed to the _Seventeen_. "It just seems so out of the blue."

Alice curled her legs beneath her. "I just came to the realization that if I want something to happen, I have to make it happen. I'm tired of being seen as the innocent little kid that goes to church every weekend, and whose parent's teach Sunday school. I want to be known as my own person, not just as Edward's younger sister or Carlisle and Esme sweet, little girl."

I remained quiet, looking out over the water, not knowing what to say. I had no idea what it was like to have parents who were suffocating and didn't knock on doors to discourage bad behavior, and pushed their children in a direction that they didn't want to go, just because the parents themselves wanted it. If I'd been Alice, maybe I would be doing the same thing. At some point, one of the children is going to rebel, brake out of the mold, because they couldn't take it anymore.

"Oh." was the only thing that I could think to respond back with.

Alice looked at me, "It's okay if you think that it sounds crazy."

I shook my head, "It doesn't... sound crazy, I mean. I think that if I was in your shoes, I would do the same thing."

"You have no idea how easy you have it," Alice's fingers teased the edges of her magazine as she talked, "Your parents are never looking over your shoulder to make sure that you don't do something wrong. Last week my mom fussed at me for chewing a piece of gum in church, something that so many other kids do, saying that it was disrespectful to the Lord." Alice rolled her eyes, getting annoyed all over again. "If it was disrespectful for me to do it, why did the parents of all those other kids allow them to do it?" she got silent for a second, "Its suffocating to be held at standards so much higher than everyone else just because of who my parents are, and what they do."

I had become uncomfortable with the direction that our conversation had gone. I had no idea that Alice felt that way about her life. The more she talked, the more I started to understand, on some level, why she was doing what she was doing.

"I had no idea…" I trailed off, not knowing what else to say.

Alice shrugged, "It's not something that I talk about, ever. I keep it all inside because I don't want them to feel bad."

"Maybe if you tried talking to them..." I stopped what I was saying when she started to shake her head.

"My parents aren't like yours... they don't encourage us to talk openly about the way we feel. To them, it's their house, their rules... that's it."

I looked out over the water again, now feeling bad that I had brought it up. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize."

Alice looked at me, "There's nothing to apologize for," she looked back down at her magazine. "You didn't do anything wrong, Bella."

"I don't want to be the reason that our day is ruined."

She punched me in the shoulder, "Will you stop being a martyr? Not everything is so dramatic." I had always had a pessimistic streak, always thinking about the worst outcome in any given situation.

"Sorry, I can't help it sometimes." I moved to lie down on my stomach, pointing to the magazine. "So, are you summer or an autumn?"

Alice laughed, hitting me with the magazine. "I'm a summer, can't you tell?" she flipped her hair.

"No, because I don't know the difference."

"Me neither, I was just pulling your leg."

When I arrived home that evening, sun burnt because I forgot sunblock, my mom was in the kitchen, warming up leftover pot roast for dinner. I placed my towel over the back of one of the kitchen table chairs, watching her as she worked.

My mom was a graceful woman, there was fluidity in the way she moved. When she as was my age and younger, she twirled baton competitively, something that she had tried to pass on to me, but I just couldn't get into it. Apparently, she was good, coming in third on the east coast. She was the type of woman that I hoped to become one day. Strong. Independent. I remember when I was little she'd tell me: "I didn't need to marry your father, I wanted to. I was a complete person without him, he just helped make me better. You should never feel like you need a man." That stuck with me to this day, and I would try to never forget it.

"Hey, I didn't know you were there," my mom smiled at me over her shoulder, "You forgot sunblock, again didn't you?"

I smiled sheepishly, "Opps?"

She playfully rolled her eyes at me, "Mhm. If you keep forgetting, you're going to look like leather when you're my age."

"Where's Dad?"

Mom turned back to what she was doing, taking the roast out of the oven, "He's lying down."

"He's been napping a lot lately." I took a seat at the table, sliding down slightly to get more comfortable.

"Yeah." Her voice took on an edge as she cut the roast into slices, placing them on the platter.

Sensing the shift in the atmosphere of the room, I sat up straight, watching her as she put vegetables on the platter as well.

"Is something going on?" I had never thought that something could be wrong with my parents' marriage, they had always seemed so happy. I had come downstairs to breakfast several times to find them making out in the morning, something that I wasn't fond of seeing my parents do, but at least it was a sign that they were happy.

She looked at me over her shoulder again, "No, sweetie. Nothing is going on that you need to worry about."

"It's just that earlier when dad gave me the money for the diner, it seemed like you weren't happy with him." I hadn't thought anything of it at the time, but it had been a little strange. Normally she didn't get irritated when he did something like that.

Mom came over to the table, placing the platter down, then looked at me. "Everything with your father and I is fine. Okay?"

I looked at her, examining her face, trying to tell if she was lying to me, but I couldn't tell. "Okay."

"Dinner's ready, so why don't you fix the drinks and I will go get your father."

"Okay," I sighed dramatically, hefting myself out of the seat.

"Alright, drama queen." she laughed, kissing my head as she left the room.

After dinner, I made my way upstairs like I normally did, except when I got to my parent's door I stopped. It was slightly cracked, light from one of their side tables glowing orange. Curiosity got the better of me and I pushed the door the rest of the way open. My heart hammered, and there was a hole of anxiety in the pit of my stomach over the possibly getting caught, as I walked as quietly as possible to their en suite bathroom. They were downstairs doing dishes, so I had plenty of time to get in and get out before one of them came upstairs.

I flipped the light on in the bathroom, the light bulbs buzzing in their fixtures. The tile floor felt colder than normal, freezing almost on my bare feet. I found what I was looking for quickly.

My mom kept all her magazines in a wicker basket by their tub, where she did all of her reading. She'd spend hours in the tub reading the latest celebrity gossip. Right on top was the latest copy of _Cosmo_ , the same one that Alice had gotten the day before at 7Eleven, the edges still crisp, unlike all the other magazines in the basket that had gotten warped edges from encountering the water. I grabbed the _Cosmopolitan_ and sat down, legs crossed, on the bathroom floor with my back against the tub, flipping through the pages.

As I looked at the pages of articles about the perfect summer diet, how to get perfect hair, and how to have a healthy sex life, I felt more and more like I was out of my element. To be honest, it was all gibberish to me. I was fifteen, I couldn't relate with anything in here.

"Whatcha doin' there?"

I yelped, clutching the magazine to my chest at the sound of my mom's voice. She was standing in the doorway with her arms crossed and her eyebrow raised, looking at me on the floor of the bathroom, probably wondering what I was thinking.

I stood, dropping the _Cosmo_ on the floor as inconspicuously as possible trying to make it seem like I hadn't just gotten caught red handed.

"Nothing," I cleared my throat while rubbing the back of my neck. My face hot with the what I assumed was a bright red blush.

My mom laughed, coming over and picking up the magazine that I had dropped, "Really, because it looked like you were reading this?"

"Maybe?" I smiled sheepishly at her, wondering how much trouble I was going to be in.

"It's not a big deal, Bella," I sighed in relief, watching her look at the cover then back at me. "We all get curious, it's okay. You can have it if you want."

"No," I backed away from her like she was trying to give me something cancerous. "I just wanted to look at it."

Mom dropped her hand, "Is everything okay? You're acting very weird."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Curiosity got the better of me that's all." I started to walk around her.

"Bella," I stopped and looked at her, "Next time that you get curious, read it in your room so your dad's head doesn't explode." She waved the magazine for emphasis.

I blushed again, "Got it."

I left their room (well, more like fled) like a bat out of hell. Leaving my very amused mother behind.

 **A/N: Let me know what you think, and if you have any questions.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Fun Fact! When you do find and replace on the name Chris so you can change it to Edward, it takes the Chris part of Christian and makes it Edwardtian. Yeah... I've learned to be more careful. Last chapter I had tCarlisles instead of thanks.**

 **Happy reading!**

3

Alice

I was putting on my sneakers the following afternoon after we'd gotten home from church. It had been another exhilarating service of the preacher warning all the young people about music, TV, and books of today leading us down the wrong path if we weren't careful. After all, the most important thing for us to remember that our 'cleanliness' was the most important thing, and what was going to get us into heaven.

Don't get me wrong, I believe in God. I knew that he was up there listening and watching everything that we do. I prayed every day, but I would be a liar if I said that I had never had my doubts, it's part of our human nature to question things. It didn't make me a bad Christian, it just made me human. The one thing that I resented though, was church.

My parents had been forcing me to go to church every week of my entire life. It wasn't that I hated church itself, what I hated was being made to go. In my mind, going to church was a personal decision, not one that should be made for you, but my parents didn't see it that way. This was one of the many things that my parents and I didn't see eye to eye on. I didn't see where they were coming from because I didn't remember the Bible saying anywhere that you _had_ to go to church, but I may be mistaken. They never liked it when I brought up that argument.

After tying my shoes, I made my way downstairs. Our parents had gone to lunch with some of their friends, so we had the house to ourselves. Which translated to my brother having his friends over.

I didn't dislike my brother's friends for the most part, they were just loud and obnoxious like all teenage boys. They would commander the living room and play video games all day, leaving behind a wake of empty soda cans and spilled popcorn that I always, somehow, ended up being the one that cleaned up the mess so our parents wouldn't have a cow. Our mom was a neat freak and I am pretty sure that she would have a coronary if she were to come and find her spotless home filled with trash left behind by unthinking teenage boys. So, really, it was out of self-preservation. I didn't want to have to peel her off the floor.

Edward had a lot of friends, some of whom he'd drifted from (like Peter), but out of all them Riley and Felix were the ones that he was closest to. The three of them had been friends for almost as long as Bella and I had been. He'd met Riley first, when he was two at a park (at least that's where our parents said they'd met), and they had been friends ever since. Felix came into the picture when they were in fourth grade. He was new to town and kind of nerdy at the time and had started in the middle of the school year, which was every kid's primal fear. I'm not sure who befriended who first, but it didn't take long to notice that Riley and Felix had a particular interest in each other, which our parents had vocally expressed their discomfort about to us on more than one occasion. It didn't bother Edward, nor me, but we seemed to be in the minority in our small town. Some of the kids that we went to school with were real assholes about it, and I hated it. I didn't understand why everyone cared about them so much. So, they were gay, big whoop.

When I walked into the living room, the three of them, sure enough, were sitting on the couch playing a stupid video game. I didn't understand the interest around video games, blowing things up just didn't sound like fun, just violent.

"Woah," Riley exclaimed, excitedly waving around his controller, "did you see how cool that was when his head exploded?"

I rolled my eyes. That's teenage boys for you.

I was about to say something snarky when a fourth person walked into the room. Tanya. Of course. She and my brother had been lab partners the past school year, it seemed that she took that as an invitation to be at our house whenever possible, hanging onto my brother like the desperate little viper she was, not noticing, or possibly not caring, that brother really didn't seem to have an interest. She also was always wearing as little clothing she could get away with, today being no exception. She was once again wearing that pink dress that barely covered her butt and was so tight that I couldn't understand how she could breathe. Although, if I looked like she did, I would want to show it off too.

"That is so disgusting." She cracked open the can of soda that she was holding, threw her perfectly wavy hair over her shoulder, and took a sip of her drink.

All three of them could see straight through what she was doing, yet still let her hang out with them. It wasn't like she was hurting for friends of her own. She and Irina (another snooty, popular girl) were friends. Well, at least friendly.

Felix stood from his place on the couch next to Riley, making a face and rolling his eyes, which made me giggle. "Hey, little Cullen." He said when he realized that I was standing there. Felix had always been nice to me. Your sibling's friends are either nice to you, or just as annoying as your brother/sister.

"Hi, Felix."

"Hey," Riley smiled over his shoulder at me, "did you want to hang out with us down here?"

I glanced at Tanya quickly before answering, "No, I'm going to head over to Bella's."

Tanya snorted at this, making me roll my eyes. With her being here, I definitely didn't want to be. She wasn't my favorite person, and I wasn't hers either. She was one of those people that if she disappeared, I wouldn't be disappointed. That might sound mean, but oh well. It was truth.

Bella was spending some time with her dad today, so I was hoping that it was late enough that they would already be home since it was after two. It wasn't hot out today but the humidity was killer. Sweat was forming on the back of neck on the short walk from my house to hers. This was the part of summer that I hated. I liked that I didn't have to go to school, but I hated sweating like a pig.

When I knocked on the Swan's door, my wish was fulfilled when Bella answered. She was wearing the cut offs that she'd been wearing the past two summers with a white tank top. Her hair, as always was up in a ponytail. She always said that she put it up because it was frizzy but when she'd take it down, it looked really pretty.

"I was hoping that you'd be home." I walked into their sweetly air-conditioned house. "I needed to get out, my brother's friends had taken over the living room." For her sake, I left out the part about Tanya being there, remembering her reaction when she'd seen them together the day before.

Bella laughed, closing the door. "We actually just got home." She came to a stop in front of me, "So, Miss I Wanted to Get Out of The House, what do you want to do?"

"Do you want to get a Slurpee?" I'd just had one the other day and already wanted another one. Darn that perpetual sweet tooth.

"I'll go get my shoes on!" She disappeared up the stairs for moment, reappearing with her equally worn sneakers on her feet.

As we walked out the door, Bella yelled back to her parents that we were leaving and that she would be back later. She grabbed her bike from the garage and we stopped off at my house so I could get mine.

Owings was a small town, the downtown consisted of a group of buildings along one street. We had a bookstore, a body shop that was owned by Jasper Whitlock's family (and somehow relation to the White family that owned the bookstore), a small library, and a 7Eleven. We had a Wal-Mart, but it was off in the opposite direction. Oh, and an Eckerd Pharmacy.

We got our Slurpee's and sat on the curb of the 7Eleven, sipping on the icy liquid, the cement hot through the fabric of my shorts. The same guy that had waited on us a few days ago had waited on us again, and had yet to learn how to form syllables. Bella was right, he was kind of rude.

"There is something that I want to do." I announced out of the blue, making Bella look at me weird, her straw still in her mouth as she took a long drag of her Slurpee.

She made a face of pure pain from what I assumed was a brain freeze before she answered me, "What?"

I stood from my place on the curb, wiping dirt from the back of my shorts. "Follow me."

She gave me another weird look, but got up from her seat and got on her bike without further question. I rode, with Bella following behind, toward the direction of Eckerd.

I had gotten those magazines, but they had been an act of frustration. None of what I was reading made any sense to me. The articles that were supposed to help me, left me frustrated and confused. It seemed to me that you needed to have prior knowledge for any of it to make sense, which I did not have. I had tried to take one of those quizzes that was supposed to tell me if I was a summer or spring or whatever, but I ended up throwing the magazine across the room when I didn't know how to answer most of the questions. Like what lipstick I wore that I got the most compliments on. I didn't wear lipstick. But I wanted to. The stupid magazine was supposed to help me, not frustrate me! It was supposed to give me advice, not gibberish!

The Eckerd was located across the street from Whitlock's Auto Repair. There were a few cars in the parking lot, slow for a late Sunday afternoon. We leaned our bikes against the side of the building before walking inside. A girl, that was very much into the grunge scene, was sitting behind the counter reading a _Teen Beat_ , chomping on some gum. The only way that you could tell that she worked there was the blue vest that all employees had to wear. She looked bored out of her mind.

"What are we doing here?" Bella asked, her brow furrowed, looking extremely confused.

"Looking at makeup." I said quickly, starting to walk toward the aisle that I had never been down before.

"Why?" she asked from where I left her.

I heard her sneakers squeak on the floor as she hurried to catch up to me.

"Why?" she asked again when she caught up to me.

"I'm starting to enact my plan," I told her, already overwhelmed by the wall of makeup. Revlon. L'Oréal. Maybelline. Covergirl. Wet'n'Wild. All brands that I had seen my mother use when she was getting ready in the morning, but I had no idea where to start. All I was seeing was various reds and pinks and oranges, some of which looked the exact same. I didn't understand why there needed to be almost ten red lipsticks. I mean, it was red! What was the difference?!

"Oh, right." she wiped her hands on her shorts, clearly uncomfortable as she surveyed the wall of cosmetics with the same trepidation that I was sure that I had. She had no idea where to start either, which made me feel less alone.

"I have no idea where to start." I admitted out loud, trying to let her know that I was just as uncomfortable and overwhelmed as her.

"Says the one that read that magazine," she teased, bumping her arm against mine.

I laughed, "It really wasn't a help." I came close to telling her that I had also bought a _Cosmo_ that I had been too chicken to read. Just looking at it made me uncomfortable. I found _Seventeen_ foreign, I couldn't imagine broaching the cover of _Cosmo_.

"I hate to inform you, but the only makeup knowledge I have is what Lip Smacker flavors I like the best."

I sighed, taking a bite of my candy bracelet, spotting the only thing that looked familiar to both of us. Lip Smackers. Like Bella, I had collected pretty much all the scents over the years, strawberry being my favorite. So, instead of trying to force myself to buy things that I really didn't want to, because that was just stupid and a waste of money, I grabbed a tube of clear Lip Smackers strawberry lip gloss. Something that I was comfortable buying.

Satisfied with my choice, I looked at Bella. "We can go now."

We walked up to the checkout and the girl behind the counter was nice. Her personality was a lot bubblier than her appearance made her out to be. I put the crumpled bills that I had in my back pocket on the counter, not worrying about getting my change back. I slipped the lip gloss, cardboard packaging and all, into my pocket.

Bella and I went back to my house, mercifully my brother's friends were gone (and when I say friends, I really mean Tanya). We went up to my room and hung out for a couple of hours listening to music and talking about boys and gossiping about which girls at school stuffed their bra with toilet paper.

 **A/N: Any questions or concerns? Anything that needs to be changed?**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: So, not every chapter is going to be long, some, like this one, will be short. When I write, I try not to think about the length of a chapter, but the quality. I know that some people like long chapters, but I am not going to stretch out a chapter just for the sake of making it long. I would rather have a chapter that is shorter, instead of having one that is long and drawn out.**

 **Anyway, I hope that you like the chapter. Happy reading!**

4

Bella

"Are you ready yet, kid?" Dad yelled up the stairs after me. We were heading out for some much-needed father-daughter time, and I was really excited about it.

I rolled my eyes at his impatience, "Coming!" I called back, slipping my feet in my sneakers, before bounding down the stairs to where my father was waiting by the front door.

He smiled at me, opening the door for me, "Madam." he bowed dramatically, making me roll my eyes at his antics for the second time in as many minutes. But that was him, he was just silly and always making Mom and I laugh. At our annual Fourth of July barbecue, he acted more like a kid than Alice or I did. Mom scolded him for his ridiculousness sometimes, to which his response was to give her a kiss on the cheek. She tried to act like she hated it when he did this, but I could always see her smile to herself.

My parents were the epitome of opposites attract. Dad was goofy and outrageous. He had a joke or a funny remark for any situation. Mom was prim and proper and quiet. She kept mostly to herself in social situations, much like me. She didn't like being the center of attention. When we would go out to eat for her birthday, she'd refuse to let Dad tell them that it was her birthday so that they wouldn't sing. Dad on the other hand ate that kind of thing up. He would wear the biggest smile when they came to the table with the free dessert and the waiters would then sing a poor rendition of "Happy Birthday."

"You're insane," I joked as I walked out into the warm morning air. It smelled like summer. I don't know how to explain it, but it smelled like freedom and bike rides and the river all combined into one.

He closed the door behind us, "But you love me for it."

"Whatever stops the tears, Dad!" I called back to him as I got into his car.

While the diner was mine and Alice's place of choice, it wasn't where Dad and I went. There was this little hole in the wall place downtown that we went to. They had strange hours, only being open for a couple hours a day. It was a total dive, but the food was so good. We'd been going there for so long that neither one of us could remember how we'd found it.

The only thing not so great about the place was the parking. You had to park on the street, and places in front of the restaurant were always full. Today, we had to park three store fronts away.

The actual restaurant, Marge's to be exact, was one of those places that looked dirty but wasn't. It was an older place, one of the oldest businesses in downtown, so it looked a little dilapidated both inside and out. The inside was showing its age more so than the outside, with stains from age on the walls, and rickety old wooden tables and chairs. All the employees were very kind, going out of their way to make sure that your experience was a good one. Marge herself was here most days. Her white hair always pulled into a tight bun in her usual uniform of a flannel shirt and jeans always unchanging. She always smelled of cold cream like my grandmothers.

A little bell rang when we opened the door, signaling our arrival. Marge was wiping down the tables, a huge smile spreading across her face when she saw who had come into her establishment. She walked over to us, placing the towel that she had been using on the table that she had been cleaning, rolling her sleeves of her flannel back down.

"Well, if it isn't Charlie and Bella Swan, it has been forever since I've seen you. Sit, sit!" she ushered us to the table closest to the door that we always sat at when we came here. My dad taking the seat that faced the street so he could people watch.

"So how is everything?" she asked, pouring coffee for both us. Though it had been a while, she still knew what we ordered. "How was your first year of high school?" this time the question was directed at me.

"Stressful," I put sugar in my coffee, along with more cream than any one person should want. Dad liked to tease me about how I took my coffee, telling me that I was going to rot my teeth.

She patted me on the shoulder, giving me a warm smile, "I bet." She looked at my father, "Do you need a menu so you can decide to order the same thing or what?" I snickered. My father was such a creature of habit. He always asked for a menu, only to order his staple of two eggs, toast, and hash browns. Yet, he would read the menu for what felt like twenty minutes even though I knew that he had the entire thing memorized at this point.

Dad rolled his eyes, shaking his head, while ordering his usual. I order the same, and not my usual of chocolate chip pancakes. We talked about school while we waited for our food and he told me some of what had been going on with him at work.

"So, what did you and Alice do yesterday?" he asked, mixing his eggs and hash browns together.

I took a sip of my coffee, "The usual. We're creatures of habit." _Like you,_ I added in my head.

He laughed, starting to eat his egg-hash brown mixture.

I looked at him as he ate his breakfast, "You've been working late." I couldn't help but bring it up, especially after the conversation that I had with Mom the night before in the kitchen. There was something going on with them, and I wanted to know. I couldn't help it. They were hiding something from me, like they were afraid that I couldn't handle.

He put his fork down on this plate, "Yeah," he took a sip of his coffee, avoiding eye contact with me. Yep, something was going on.

"It's been busy, huh?" I probed, wanting to know more. The crime rate in Owings was not particularly high. The last huge thing that had happened was a low speed chase last fall. A teenager had been drinking and driving, and has refused to stop.

He cleared his throat, still not looking at me. "A little."

We slipped into an awkward silence for the rest of the meal. The only sounds in the restaurant was our forks scrapping against the plate and dishes clanging in the kitchen. When I asked those questions, I didn't mean to cause our day to come to a halt. When he paid the bill, and we still hadn't said anything else to each other, I thought for sure that he would say that we were going home, but he didn't.

"Off to the bookstore?" he asked, his usual jovial self again, like we didn't just have the most awkward meal ever.

I looked at him, dumbfounded, for a moment before answering: "Sure," I nodded. Our day wasn't ruined after all.

After my dad and I went to the bookstore, still acting like nothing had happened at breakfast. He went on talking about the books that I had read, books that he thought that I should read. By the time that we left, we both had a pile of books so high that I didn't know where I was going to put all of them, I barely had the space for the books that I had.

"Have you had fun today?" he asked when were back in the car.

I watched as he started the car up, trying to figure out how I wanted to respond. Yes, I had had a good time, but it was strange.

"Yeah, I had fun." I finally replied, causing him to smile at me.

I bit my lip, putting on my seatbelt. I wanted to know what was such a big deal about me asking him what was going on at work. Normally, he didn't think twice telling what he could, except today.

When I got home, Alice came over, asking if I wanted to go with her to get a Slurpee, and I said yes, wanting something today to feel completely normal again.

My trip out with Alice's wasn't exactly the normalcy that I was wanting. She and I stopped at Eckerd on the way home… to look at makeup. The only time that I had gone down the makeup aisle anywhere was to get Lip Smackers, which I didn't think counted as actual 'makeup' because it didn't have any color to it. I didn't know anything about blush or eyeshadow or anything like that. Looking at what felt like the never-ending wall of cosmetics, was the equivalent to asking me to speak Latin. Eventually, she gave up her mission and grabbed, instead, a clear Lip Smackers lip gloss.

"I'm home!" I called to my parents, much like I had when I had left earlier with Alice.

When I didn't get an answer, I walked into the kitchen to find my parents talking in hushed tones in front of the table that Mom had been in the process of setting for dinner. I cleared my throat loudly, letting them know that I was there before I heard something that I wasn't supposed to.

Mom smiled, putting on a happy face for me, "Did you have fun?" She continued her task of setting the table like I hadn't just walked in on them fighting.

"Yeah, like always." Except nothing about today had been 'like always'. It was weird. Completely, totally weird.

"Well, I'm glad the two of you had fun." She didn't even comment on the fact that I sounded off, which wasn't like her. Normally, she was hypervigilant when it came to my happiness. But, like I said, nothing about today had been normal. My best friend was wanting to look at makeup and reading _Cosmo_ , and my parents were acting freaky.

Throughout dinner, my parents continued to act like nothing was going on, much like Dad had done at breakfast that morning. I don't know why suddenly, they thought that they were such good actors, because they weren't. Mom always got this high-pitched voice when she was lying. Like when she told me that my goldfish went on a vacation when I was six. Dad wasn't much better. It was strained and… weird which seemed to be my favorite word now, because it was the only word that properly described everything that was going on.

Afterwards, they said that they would take care of the dishes, probably to continue the argument that they were having earlier. The one that I had interrupted. I took them up on that offer, seeking refuge in my room for the rest of the night from the tension between them. Whatever it was, it had to be big for them to keep it from me.

I was pretty sure that whatever it was, it had to with all those late nights that he had been having lately. They had become more frequent than they had ever been, and I had to stop myself from thinking the worst. There was no way that my dad… could do that… right? But, maybe he could. He had become uncomfortably antsy when I had questioned him about work at Marge's.

The mere thought of… _that_ made my skin crawl and my stomach lurk uncomfortably, making me feel like I wanted to throw up.

 _I'm jumping to conclusions, that's all this was. I'm reading too much into. That's it. That's all this was._ I told myself as I lay there on my bed, no longer letting myself entertain such thoughts.

 **A/N: What do you think is going on with Bella's dad?**

 **This chapter had been longer, but I moved things in the story around. I hope that you don't mind the shorter chapter. The next one should be longer.**

 **See you in a couple of days.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Happy reading!**

5

Alice

"Please, Edward, please!" I pleaded with my brother. He and his friends were going to be making a trip to the Chesapeake Bay the following day, and I really wanted to go.

It had been, what felt like, forever since I'd been there. We used to take family trips there a lot over the summers. But, since our dad had gotten so busy at work, we hadn't been able to go because he started having to spend more time at the office. Our parents wouldn't let me go with just Bella, but I knew that if I could say that I was going with Edward as well, they would let me.

"I will do anything that you want me to for a month," I wasn't thrilled about being at my brother's beck and call, but I was desperate. I wanted to go, and I knew exactly what to say to make him say yes. "Please, let us go with you?"

Edward sighed, and I rejoiced on the inside. When he sighed like that, I knew that I had broken him. He was going to say yes.

He looked at me with a torn expression before he spoke. "Okay, fine. You can go. I don't care, just leave me alone now!"

I beamed at him, feeling triumphant. I hugged him, giving him a big, wet kiss on the cheek just because I knew that he didn't like it when I did that.

"Thanks, Edward!"

"You're a real pain in my ass." He rubbed my spit off his cheek, watching as I walked away so I could go call Bella.

"I know!" I called back to him, grabbing the phone so I could tell Bella the change of plan.

"You better be invisible tomorrow!" I chuckled at his threat, unfazed. He was all word and no follow through. He had learned when he was six and I was four when he had gotten on top of me and I bit his big toe. He hadn't dared do anything to me since.

Bella and I talked on the phone for an hour, squealing in excitement about going to the Bay. It had been just as long as she had gone, and we lived so close.

My parents were fine with me going, just like I thought that they would be.

"It's nice that you decided to invite them." Mom commented after we told them that Bella and I would be tagging along the next morning.

Edward shrugged, blowing off her compliment as he finished getting our towels together on the kitchen counter. "It's no big deal."

Mom put her hand on my shoulder, "Although, I think that you had some help coming to that decision."

I couldn't help the blush that crept up my cheeks at her observation, slightly embarrassed that I had been caught. She knew how… persuasive I could be when it came to Edward. I could pretty much get him to do anything that I wanted. I felt a bit of guilt creep into my conscience under her stare.

"No, I decided to be nice for once." Edward came to my rescue, winking at me over her shoulder, telling me that he really didn't mind at all.

I smiled slightly at him. While we tended to battle with our words, we really did like each other… sometimes.

Bella met us outside of our house at eleven, the straps of her blue on piece sticking out from beneath the collar of her plain purple tank top. She was wearing her usual cutoffs and well-worn sneakers, bashfully giving my brother her beach bag. She shot me a look when I snickered at the rising pink of her cheeks.

On the ride to the Bay, I sat in between Edward and Bella, the windows of his truck were down, blowing my hair wildly around my face. Both were mouthing along to the song playing on the radio, Edward's fingers tapping in time with the beat on the steering wheel. I personally wasn't a fan of Smells Like Teen Spirit, none of the lyrics made sense and I didn't fully understand why either of them liked it so much.

We lived maybe twenty minutes from the beach that we were going to. With the river so close to where we lived, we tended to go there instead, pretty much only because Bells and I couldn't drive. I had fond memories of the Bay from summer's past. My dad playing with me in the water, my mom sitting on the shore watching us while wearing a floppy hat so she wouldn't get sunburned. Inevitably though, Edward would come along and bulldoze the sand castle that I would work tirelessly to make, causing me to burst into tears. He could be such a jerk! My favorite part was Mo's, the little ice cream shop right on the beach. They had the best homemade ice cream that I had ever tasted. Bella's dad would take us there every time we went with her parents, always buying way more than we should have, but we enjoyed every bite of it. Even if it did make us feel sick afterwards.

The beach was crowded today. There were lots of families with young children scattered along the sand, parents running after their squealing toddlers, picking them up and swinging them around in the air once they caught up to them.

I could recognize some of the other people that were there that we went to school with. They were being loud and having fun and terrorizing each other. One of the guys that was on the football team threw one of the girls in his group in the water. She came up screaming and cursing at him. Some of the parents of the younger children gave them dirty looks, not appreciating the harsh language around their young, impressionable children.

My brother's friends were already here, Riley and Felix were absent because they had to work. Emmett, the guy that Edward worked with that he smoked with after work, was here. He was an interesting person. Pretty much all he wore was Tommy Hilfiger, he didn't wear anything that he didn't deem "name brand", baggy jeans, a silver chain necklace around his neck, and perfectly white sneakers. He also reeked of too much cologne, more than likely to cover up the smell of all the pot that he smoked. He was nice enough, but he made me a little uncomfortable. He always looked at me weird and would wink at me. Just thinking about it made me shiver.

"I didn't know that girls were allowed!" Paul joked. He was sitting in a chair next to Emmett. He was nice, and the opposite of everything that Emmett was. He was kind and gentlemanly. He was always wearing polo shirts and khaki shorts. I had never seen him wear jeans and a t-shirt the entire time that Edward had known him. He always dressed like he was going to church or something. We didn't interact much, he'd say hi to me, but we never talked or anything. He was just Paul to me, my brother's friend. He and his girlfriend, Rachel, had been together forever.

Edward shrugged, "I got coerced." He bumped my arm with his fist, playfully, publicly giving me a hard time.

I rolled my eyes, "Don't worry, you won't even know that we're here." I shot back at him. He had told me to be invisible today.

Bella stood next to me, uncomfortably shuffling her feet. Her cheeks were already red from the heat and she had sweat forming on her forehead. I wasn't sure if it was because she felt out of place, or because she was hot. She didn't like being around people that she didn't know, it always made her nervous. She had a hard time talking to people that she just met, always had. We were the different in that respect. I had no problem going up and talking to someone, but she would die if she had to. We balanced each other, she calmed me some and I could get her to come out of her shell to a degree.

Emmett slid his sunglasses part of the way down his nose, his eyes scanning over Bella. He was so disgusting. I didn't understand why he and Edward were friends. Emmett was an ass, that thought that girls were the equivalent to pieces of meat that were for the taking. Edward, on the other hand, was chill and relaxed and treated people with respect. I think that it was a friendship started out of a want on Edward's part for what Emmett could provide. Other than that, I think Edward just tolerated Emmett.

"Who's your friend?" he asked, sliding his sunglasses back into place.

I put my arm protectively around Bella, trying to tell him that she was just equally off limits to him as I was. "Bella, not that that is any of your business." I shot back in a venomous voice.

Bella and I laid our towels out on the sand a little way from the guys. I pulled my sunglasses out of my beach bag, putting them on.

"Who is that guy anyway?" Bella toward the guys, grimacing slightly.

"Emmett. Ignore him, I do." I shook my head, "He does the same thing to me. He's all talk mostly. I think he likes to act like he's more impressive than he is, if you ask me."

While Emmett had the tendency to say things to a lot of girls, there had been very few (that I had seen) that had given him any attention. To me, it seemed like he was putting on an act to make himself feel better about himself. Like he had to be a lady's man to make himself feel good, more "masculine," like it was expected of him or something.

"I've never seen him before," she commented, looking over at them again.

"He's the guy that Edward stays after work with." I gave her a pointed look to get my meaning across, letting her know silently that Emmett was the guy that I had been talking about the other night at my house.

Her face got red, and she looked down at her hands. "Oh." I don't think that she liked thinking about my brother as being less than perfect like she had him built up in her head. She had only ever seen one side of him. She didn't see the side of him that tormented me, or the side of him could be a jerk. She'd only ever seen him as the guy that was nice to her, that treated her kindly because she was my best friend.

It didn't bother me that she liked my brother. After first I thought that it was weird and disgusting, because, well, he's my brother, and anyone liking him I found a little gross. I knew how she felt, liking a guy that didn't see her the way that she wanted him to see her. While, I teased her about her attraction to my brother, I did it because, oddly, because I knew how she felt. Making light of the situation so she wouldn't feel down about the fact that he didn't seem to notice her. I would stop if she ever asked me to. Anyway, I would much rather see him with her instead of someone like Tanya.

"Look at them!" Emmett yelled loudly as two girls and bikinis ran by, making the other guys turn and notice them as well, practically drooling as they continued down the sand.

"Why are all guys so disgusting, and obsessed with girl's boobs?" I bit at them, as they continued to ogle the girls that had gone by us. I thought that I was going to have to get them a drool bucket.

"Because they're hot." Emmett laughed, like it was obvious.

I rolled my eyes at how despicable they could be.

But, at the same time, I couldn't help but feel a little inadequate compared to them as I looked down at my own one-piece swimsuit that I was wearing with a pair of shorts. Girls in bikinis seemed to be the type of thing that guys liked.

"Do you want to go to Mo's?" I asked Bella, wanting nothing more than to be as far from the guys as I could get.

She nodded, "Yeah."

"Where are you going?" Edward asked as we started to walk away, his over protective brother side coming out to play.

"We're going to Mo's, we'll be back in a few minutes."

He nodded, going back to the conversation that he was having with his friends, finding my answer satisfactory.

Bella and I walked up the beach to the little ice cream shop, the pastel paint fading away due to the salty air. It was still decorated exactly like it had been when it first opened in the nineteen-fifties. There were red, cushioned booths and black and white tiled floor. There were florescent signs advertising various items low prices in various neon colors. All the employees were dressed in poodle skirts and white button-up blouses, a small white scarf wrapped around their necks.

There was counter seating, which was where Bella and I found ourselves.

"What can I get for you two ladies?" A young woman whose name tag said Jill asked us with a polite smile, her green eyes twinkling.

"Do you want to split a regular sundae?" Bella asked me.

I nodded, "Sure, that's sounds good."

Jill smiled, "Coming right up." She walked away then, leaving us alone.

"This day has kind of been a bust, hasn't it?" I asked her, resting my chin in my hand on the counter.

"No, it's not a bust." She assured me, but I really think that she was trying to make me feel better.

"Not even with Emmett?" I lifted a brow in her direction.

She let out a small laugh, "While gross, he hasn't ruined the day for me. It's fun being here. Brings back good memories. I am happy that we came."

This place had been special to us growing up, and it did hold lots of memories for the both of us. Everywhere I looked, reminded me of something that we'd done as kids.

"I guess you're right." I admitted, playing with the candy bracelet on my wrist.

Jill brought us our sundae, placing it between the two of us, around the same time a small group of girls entered, going over to where the case of ice cream was. They looked to be about our age and all of them were wearing two-piece bathing suits.

One of the girls looked over at us, tapping one of the girls that she was with on the shoulder. She whispered something to the other, both laughing as they continued to stare at us. Bella didn't notice, that or she didn't care. She'd always been that way, and I envied her for it. I wished that I didn't care as much what people thought about me.

"Nice suits," she said as they left, making the other girls in her group laugh.

"Nice attitude!" I tossed back, trying to prove to them, or to myself, that what she said didn't bother me.

Bells let out a heavy sigh, "I hate girls like that. They all act like they have to bring other people down to make themselves feel better."

"Yeah," I scooped some ice cream out of our now nearly empty bowl, feeling jealous.

Those other girls could wear what they wanted and I couldn't. I wanted to be like them. I wanted to be like Bella, too. I wanted to be able to let the words that they had spoken roll off me like they were nothing, like they should be. But, at this moment, they were everything to me.

When we walked out of Mo's I paused, making Bella look at me funny.

"Aren't you coming?" she asked, pointing over her shoulder at where the guys were on the beach.

"Yeah, I'll be right there."

"Okay." She walked down the sand, back to where we'd come.

I looked down at the candy bracelet on my wrist, suddenly thinking about how childish it was of me to continue to wear when I was fifteen-years-old. None of the other girls my age, ones that were also wearing bikinis and not one pieces, didn't wear them. I took it off my wrist, looking at it for a moment. I felt a pang of sadness about letting go of part of my childhood, having to remind myself that this was what I wanted. I wanted to grow-up. I wanted a boyfriend. I wanted to feel like I had some control over my life.

Throwing it in the trashcan, I went back to join the others on the beach.

 **A/N: Hope you enjoyed. See you next chapter.**


	6. Chapter 6

6

Bella

Alice was acting strangely. It started in Mo's when those girls said those things to us about what we were wearing. She had become more subdued and quiet, not at like she'd been an hour before. She laid there on her towel, her sunglasses on, chin resting on top of her hands as she laid on her stomach, looking at the water. When she had come back, after I left her behind, she wasn't wearing her candy bracelet, something that may have been insignificant had it been anyone else, but was huge when it came to her. She had worn those things every day for as long as I could remember. I know that she wanted to change, but her taking that off was like her throwing away part of her identity.

I didn't understand why she cared so much about what some girls we didn't know had to say about us. So, what if we weren't wearing what they were, who cares? What they thought was a problem, was their problem, not ours. I wasn't going to change myself just because someone wanted me to. That was just stupid.

"Are you okay?" I asked her, coming to lay next to her on my own towel.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" she didn't move from her position, nor did she sound convincing. She wasn't fine, there was something going on in her head that she didn't want to tell me. Something to do with what those girls said and the fact that she wanted to reinvent herself.

I sighed, rolling onto my back. "Fine." The words came out a lot more harshly than they sounded in my head. If she didn't want to tell me, I couldn't make her. I was a little tired of her telling me she was okay when she wasn't.

"What?" she sat up, looking at me, irritated with how I had replied.

I sat up as well, looking her in the eye. "Why are you letting what some stupid girls said get to you?"

Her rigidness melted some, "I don't know." She answered truthfully. Her shoulders hunched as she looked away from me, unable to look me in the eye after her confession.

I cooled off some, feeling her pain. "What they think doesn't matter."

"It's hard, Bells. What if they know what they were talking about?" she bit her lip, chancing me a glance.

My brow furrowed, "What do you mean?" How could girls that didn't know us, know what they were talking about. I personally didn't think that there was anything wrong with what I had on. I was comfortable and felt like myself.

"What if they know what guys like."

Oh.

Right.

Guys.

She wanted guys to notice her. She didn't want them to see the innocent, little church girl. She wanted them to see her, but I didn't see what that had to do with the situation at hand.

She motioned toward the guys, "Think about what Emmett's reaction was when he saw those girls in those bikinis."

"But, you're the one that said to ignore him." I was confused as to why she was using Emmett as an example, he was a pig. Thinking about the way that he had looked at me made me feel dirty and uneasy, like I needed a shower.

"I know, I know," she shifted uncomfortably, pushing hair behind her ears. "but, Edward and Paul also noticed those girls. Girls that dress that way seem to be what they like."

"Alice, you shouldn't change to be something that guys want, you should because that is what you want to do." I didn't want her to change to be "likable" to guys, just to end up regretting it later. To me, it wasn't worth it. Being yourself should be enough, and if it wasn't, they weren't worth it. My mom had made sure to teach me that at a young age. She didn't want me to feel that I needed to be with someone to be complete and truly happy.

"I am doing it because I want to. I'm just taking all of the other stuff into consideration, too."

I wasn't sure how I felt about her answer. To me, it still sounded like she wasn't doing it for herself. She already didn't seem like she was herself anymore. The dramatic shift that had occurred with her in a few short minutes was worrisome. The girl that was talking to me wasn't Alice.

We fell silent then, looking at anything but the other.

"I'm surprised that Tanya isn't here," Paul commented, grabbing my morbid curiosity. "usually she'd following you around like a lost puppy."

Emmett laughed, "What is with you two anyway? Are you hooking up or what?"

I internally grimaced at the mere mention that they were doing something that wasn't PG-rated. I didn't want to think of them being together in _that_ way.

Edward rubbed the back of his neck, taking his time to answer. "I don't know. I think that she likes me more than I like her. We're friends, I guess."

"What do you mean "I guess?"" Paul used air quotes. "I didn't think that you would have to guess if you were someone's friend or not."

Edward sighed, "We hang out, I don't know if I would consider her my friend, though."

"So, you're _definitely_ not hooking up?" Emmett pressed.

Edward shook his head quickly, "Definitely not. Definitely not _going_ to happen."

"So, you wouldn't mind if I hit that?" Emmett asked with a boisterous laugh.

Edward rolled his eyes and shook his head, looking away from him.

Tanya. Ick. Her name made my skin crawl and my blood boil, because I was jealous. I was jealous that he saw her and not me in any capacity. I wanted to be the one outside the movie store with him, talking and laughing. It did make me feel a little better that he confirmed that they weren't together. It was ridiculous of me to feel this way, he wasn't mine, I had no claim on him, but I couldn't help it. I was more than a little jealous.

"Told you nothing was going on with them," Alice whispered, winking at me.

I blushed, averting my eyes. Hearing it from Alice and hearing it from Edward were two different things. I just hated the fact that it mattered that much to me.

"I'm going for a swim… cool off." I got up and walked into the water, letting it swallow me whole.

Not long after my escape, we left. We'd been there for most of the day and were efficiently sunburned.

Edward once again had the windows down for the drive back home. The radio wasn't on because Alice had turned it off, stating that she had a headache. I wasn't grateful for the quiet because it let me think too much about things that I shouldn't be thinking about.

I couldn't help that my mind kept replaying the conversation that Edward had had with his friends. I also couldn't help how happy that it made me, even though it shouldn't. It wasn't like he was mine. But, as long as he was single, there was a hope that he could be one day. And I hated that I couldn't let it go. Besides, there was a two-year age gap between the two of us, and I am pretty sure that still had me in the little kid category to him.

Mom and dad were both home by the time that I arrived. Dad was in his usual spot on the couch, watching baseball or something, which was his way of winding down after a day at work. Mom was walking out of the kitchen, still in her work clothes, apparently, she hadn't had the chance to change since she got home.

"Have fun?" she came over to me, running her hand along my ponytail like she had done since I was a kid.

"Yeah. Do you need any help with dinner?"

"I thought that we could go out. I forgot to thaw something."

"Okay," I nodded, throwing my towel over the railing of the stairs.

Dad got off the couch, walking over to us. "We're going out?" he put his hand on my shoulder, giving it a squeeze.

"Yeah," Mom's response was short and cut like a knife.

Dad didn't seem fazed by her response as he replied, "Sounds good."

I tried to smile when he looked down at me, but I found it impossible.

We went to the diner and had what would seem to the outside world, as a normal happy family having a meal out. But it wasn't. Mom could barely look at dad, not even bothering to pretend to laugh at his jokes. He on the other, opted for the 'nothing is going on' approach.

The house was warm that night, too warm for me to sleep. I laid there, tossing and turning, listening to the crickets outside, hoping that if I listened to them long enough that their sound would lull me to sleep. Eventually, I gave up, throwing my covers off me and turning on the light. I was going to beg my parents for a fan in the morning, because it was ridiculously hot on the second floor.

I got off my bed and lifted the quilt that had fallen partially off the bed, so I could see the piles of books that I had under there. My room wasn't tiny, but it wasn't big either, so a bookcase wouldn't fit in here, something that I despised. I would love to have my books all where I could see them, but I didn't have the room. I made do with what I had, though; organized chaos was my specialty.

My default book, which I had read more times than I could count, was a very tattered, loved copy of _That Summer_ by Renee Dessen. My grandmother had sent it to me for Christmas 1996, saying that she had thought of me immediately when she read the summary. She was right on the money with that pick, and I hadn't been able to put it down. It had come with me so many places that the cover was falling off.

I got on the bed with my back against the wall, letting the coolness of it sink in to my skin. My hope was that if I read long enough, that I would pass out.

Around two o'clock, I was sixty pages in, when the home phone rang. I laid the book down on my bed, getting off it, and walked to my door. With my ear pressed against it, I listened to what was going on outside my room.

I could hear muffled loud voices from their room across the hall, as well as movement. I didn't know what was going on, all I knew was that our phone had rang at an ungodly hour.

After lots of hurried footsteps, I heard their door creak open.

"I am asking you not to go!" I heard mom's angry voice come through my door.

"I have to, Renee." my dad replied back to her, sounding just as angry.

I couldn't hear their voices any longer, all there was the sound of pounding footsteps. Cautiously, I cracked my door open, listening to what was going on.

"She's a grown woman, she can take care of herself, Charlie!"

My throat tightened at what my mom said. I had no idea who this other woman she was speaking of was, but apparently, this wasn't the first time that my dad had left in the middle of the night.

"She just needs help."

"But, you're not the one that has to give it to her. It seems like she means more to you then your own family."

"I'm going. You can't stop me." I could hear the door open.

"Charlie!" I could hear running on the wood floor downstairs. "Charlie!"

Feeling numb, I stood there, gripping my door to hold me up, not knowing what to make of what I had heard. What I had declared the impossible just a few days ago, was actually happening. At that revelation, I could feel my blood turn to ice. There was another woman.

My mom came up the stairs, wiping her face. When she saw me standing in the doorway of my room, she just stared at me. Without saying a word, she walked to their room and closed the door.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Happy reading!**

7

Alice

My tennis shoes were in my hand as I walked down the stairs, hoping that if I was as quiet as possible, that I could get out of the house without my mom noticing. See, I was going to do a bad thing….

"Alice?" my mom's voice called to me, making me stop dead in my tracks.

 _Crap!_

I'd made it to the door, my hand outstretched to turn the knob. I'd been so close to getting out of the house. I'd hidden my bike in the bushes the night before, so I wouldn't make any noise. It figures that my mom, with her freaky Spidey senses, would catch me. She and my father both had radar that pinged when their children were about to commit what they considered a sin.

Reluctantly, I dropped my hand and turned to face her. She was standing in the doorway of the living room with a pair of yellow rubber gloves on, a bottle of Pledge in one hand, and a rag in the other.

"Yes?" I hoped that I sounded innocent, so her radar wouldn't go up further.

"Where are you going?"

"For a bike ride."

"Is Bella going with you?"

"Yes." I lied, knowing that she wouldn't let me go alone because it "wasn't safe" for a young girl to go out by herself.

I must not have looked as nervous as I felt because, thankfully, she bought it. "Well, you girls have fun."

I gave her my most innocent smile. "We will."

Relived, I stepped out of the house, grabbing my bike from where I left it in the bushes. My nerves were so on edge from the confrontation that I had with my mom, that I barely stopped to put on my shoes before taking off, as fast as my legs could take me, down the road to the entrance to our neighborhood. The distance to which felt twice as long.

I took a left at the stop sign, going in the direction of the local Walmart. It was the only place close by that I knew of that I could buy what I wanted with what little allowance money that I had left. The anxiety was bubbling up inside me the further I went down the road as I thought about what it was that I was going to get, and how my parents would kill me if they found out.

My parents had a lot of rules that Edward and I were expected to follow. The first was to go to church every Sunday. The only times that we could miss were if we were sick. And faking doesn't work, I've tried. Second, was that I was to not go anywhere alone. Ever. It didn't matter if it was light out or not. Obviously, I had found a way around that one. Third, no revealing clothing. Which included two-piece bathing suits. That was the next one that I was going to break, and the reason that I wanted to get out of the house unnoticed.

There are more rules that I don't care to tell. It's suffocating. It feels at times like there is a pillow over my face so tight that I can't breathe. I wanted to feel as if I had an ounce of control over my life, which as a fifteen-year-old, isn't much anyway. Bella's parents didn't have her on a leash like mine did. Her parents were laid back and easy going. Where my parents were hard as ice. Their rules were hard and fast, no compromising whatsoever. It was their way or the highway. They'd die a thousand deaths if they knew that I was planning on not just buying a bikini, but on wearing one. A decision that I myself was not entirely comfortable with yet. I could barely look at myself in the mirror when I was wearing a one piece. I couldn't imagine how I was going to handle wearing a two piece around my room, much less outside.

I hadn't always had the itch to go outside my parents' rules. When I was younger I hadn't thought anything of them. I thought it was normal for my mom to watch my every move. If Bella's mom took us to the park, my mom would come along. Growing up, if my brother and I had the sniffles, she'd take us immediately to the doctor, who would then prescribe some sort of medication that she'd force down our throats. One of these days, there are going to be super bugs that are immune to those medications.

Sweat was running down my back by the time that I pulled into the Walmart parking lot, riding up to the front of the building and placing my bike in the rack, locking it before I went inside. The money in my pocket felt hot and heavy as I walked to the juniors' department. The anxiety was gnawing at me, twisting my stomach inside out. Despite the coolness of the store, I was still sweating. I had to rub my hands against my shorts multiple times.

Then, came deciding on the one that I wanted to buy. There was blue with white polka dots, hot pink (it was so small that it looked like scraps of fabric held together with paper clips), green, striped… Who needed these many options? I fought back the need to hyperventilate, not letting myself be a baby. After all, girls my age did this all the time.

I steeled myself, grabbing a white one that wasn't too small, one that looked like it would cover the areas that it was supposed to. Somewhat content with my choice, I left the bathing suit section, going toward the checkout area.

As I was digging in my pocket for the ten-dollar bills that I had there, I bumped into someone.

Great!

As if I couldn't have been more embarrassed in a normal situation, I looked up to see who the culprit of my mindlessness was, and my face got even more red. Standing before me was none other than Peter Evans. He looked as God like and gorgeous as ever standing there, looking down at me as I looked up at him. Of all the people that I didn't want to run into here, my mother being the top, he was a close second. Even though I hoped that at some point this summer he would see me in what I was now gripping the hanger of for dear life, I didn't want him to see me buying it. For some reason it was like having your crush seeing you buy underwear. Or tampons.

"Sorry," I sputtered, the words coming out of my mouth forced and painful. I wanted to get out of the situation that I currently found myself in as fast as I possibly could.

Putting on his best smile, he replied: "No big deal, Alice."

My heart leapt in my chest when he said my name. Even though he'd been friends with my brother for years in the past, it still surprised me when he said it.

"Well… 'bye." I went to move around him, all the while berating myself for how stupid I sounded when he grabbed my arm. The skin under his touch felt like it was twenty thousand degrees hotter than the rest of my arm. On the outside, I kept my cool, all the while on the inside I was trying not to die from him finally touching me without being prompted by a stupid dare. My heart was beating faster than I thought was possible. I was sure that if it didn't slow down soon, it was going to burst out of my chest and fall on the floor.

"Hey, where are you going so fast? Don't you want to talk to me?" He sort of pouts when he said this. And with me being the girl I was, I swooned a little at the thought that the guy that I had been admiring from afar wanting to talk to me.

"I… I need to get home." I replied dumbly because I had no idea how to handle talking to him.

He smirked, obviously happy with the effect that he had on me, "You're really cute when you blush like that."

My cheeks heated further, my palms once again getting sweaty. Was Peter Evans… flirting with me? If he wasn't, it sure sounded like it.

"Thank you?" It came out as a question. _Jeez, Alice! Could you sound anymore awkward! If you don't get yourself together, he is going to think that you're pathetic!_

He laughed, clearly amused. "Well, some friends and I are going to the river tomorrow. You should come. You can even bring that friend of yours. Lisa, right?"

"Her name is Bella, and sure. That sounds like fun."

He smirked again, "Cool, I'll see you there."

I stood there, dumbly, in the middle of the walkway, irritated people going around me, but I couldn't take my eyes off his retreating form. Did that really happen? Did he really ask me to come to the river tomorrow? Oh. My. God.

And because I hadn't embarrassed myself enough for one day, I did a happy dance right there in the middle of Walmart.

I peddled faster than I ever had back to my neighborhood, the Walmart bag hanging off my right handlebar. I needed to get to Bella's house to tell her what had happened. My plan was working better than I thought that it would. And faster.

Bella was sitting on one of the patio chairs at the right side of the house by their garage. As soon as I was in the driveway, I dropped my bike on the pavement, running over to her.

"Oh my gosh. You will never believe what happened…." I stopped my excited talking when I got a good look at her face. Her eyes were bloodshot, and she looked like she hadn't gotten any sleep. "What's wrong?" I took a seat beside her, putting my hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her.

Bella sniffed, wiping the evidence of her tears away. "My dad left in the middle night last night… to see another woman."

"What?" Shock. That's all I felt when what she had told me sunk in. I couldn't imagine her father doing something like that to her and her mom. He just couldn't. They were the perfect family. Nothing could go wrong with them. "Did he come back?"

"Yeah, he was downstairs this morning when I came down. Apparently, it wasn't the first time that it had happened. My mom hasn't come out of their room at all today. He says that he isn't having an affair, that he's only trying to help her. But, I don't know."

"Oh." Suddenly, what I had come here to tell her didn't seem like it mattered. Not when she had something huge going on.

"What was it that you wanted to tell me?" she asked, shifting towards me some more.

I waved my hand at her, "It's not important."

She stared me down, "It must have been important for you to come running over to tell me. It has to be better than my news."

"I went to Walmart, and I ran into Peter. He invited us to the river tomorrow. I understand if you don't want to go, I could go alone."

Her brow furrowed, "It's kind of weird to have someone ask you out when your mom's around."

"He didn't ask me out, and I was… alone." I watched her face carefully to see what she thought of that, but her face didn't change any.

Then, after a moment or two, she smiled. "Your mom is going to kill you if she finds out that you went there alone."

"Will you come tomorrow?"

She contemplated it for a minute, "It has to be better than sitting around here, so yeah, I'll go with you."

"Thanks, Bella."

After I left the Swan's, I opened the front door to my house carefully, peeking my head inside to make sure that my mom wasn't around. When I didn't see or hear her, I stepped inside, making sure to shut the door just as quietly as I opened it. So far, she didn't know what I had been up to, and I wanted to keep it that way. I took the stairs two at a time, trying to get to my room as fast as I possibly could, the bag holding the new white bikini that I had bought in my right hand, held tightly to my side.

"What do you have there?"

Twirling around with my heart pounding against my rib cage, I found Edward leaning against the door jamb of his room with a smirk on his face. He must have just gotten home because he was still wearing the khaki pants and black polo he wore for work.

I put the bag behind my back, "Nothing. Where's mom?"

He pushed off his perch, stepping closer to me, looking like the cat that ate the canary, "Downstairs in the kitchen. Bella's mom canceled. She doesn't know that you left the neighborhood alone."

I rolled my eyes, "What do you want to keep quiet?"

"You do the kitchen for a month."

I once again rolled my eyes, "Fine! But, if I do your chore and you squeal, mom and dad will jump at the chance to send you to Bible camp for the rest of the summer if they found out that you've been lying about the time that you get off and knew that you've been smoking." I came back with my own threat, reminding him that I had stuff on him as well, so he wouldn't get too big headed.

Satisfied, he replied, "We have a deal."

"And you suck." I stuck my tongue out at him as I closed my bedroom door behind me. I know, I am so mature….

 **A/N: I hope you enjoyed. See you in a couple of days.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Two chapters in one day? I was feeling bad for the eight days long wait.**

 **Happy reading!**

8

Bella

I didn't get any sleep the rest of the night. I'd tried to read some more, but I couldn't get into it. So, I just sat there on my bed, wondering what the heck was going on. Who was this woman? What was her problem? Why did she feel she could call my dad whenever she wanted? Why did my dad feel the need to go? Was my parents' marriage in trouble? It sure seemed like it.

Those were all the things that were going through my head while I watched the sun come up. My dad finally got home around five. I heard his car pull into the driveway. I didn't go downstairs for the longest time, I wasn't ready to face what was going on. I wasn't ready to admit that something had pierced the simple world that I had ever known. Things were never going back to what I thought they were yesterday. I felt like things were spiraling.

How had my world change so quickly?

Around ten, I was finally ready to leave my sanctuary. I took my time opening my door, listening for any sound of movement. There was none. There was no sound at all.

My footsteps on the wood floor felt loud and unnerving. Our house was never this quiet in the morning. Usually, there was a bustle. Usually, the smell of my mom cooking breakfast wafted up the stairs to me. But this wasn't usual. This was foreign. Like a war zone. I felt like a scared little kid again.

I found my dad in the kitchen. He was sitting at the table, looking out the window above the sink, a cup of coffee in one hand. He had dark circles under his eyes and he was still wearing the clothes that he must have thrown on in the night. He looked like the shell of the man that I was used to seeing.

"Hi," I spoke softly, trying not to startle him.

He looked over at me, five o'clock shadow cloaked his jaw. "Hi, Bella."

I stood there awkwardly staring at him, him looking back at me. The silence between us strained.

"You know." It wasn't a question, because there was no denying that I did.

I walked over to the table, taking a seat across from him, "Yeah, I know." It fell silent between us, "Where's mom?"

He ran a hand through his hair, ruffling it, "In our room."

"Have you talked to her?"

"I tried a little while ago. She said she needed some time."

"What's going on dad?" I asked, my brow furrowing. I was scared and confused and… so many other things that I couldn't comprehend… "Who is she?"

He sighed, placing his mug on the table, avoiding eye contact with me like he was ashamed. "Her name's Sue. I ran across her one night I was working. She was passed out in the park, drunk. I woke her up, told where she was, and asked if I could help her home, which I did. She started talking to me about how her husband was abusive and how they both had a drinking problem. She'd left the house that night to get away from him, and ended up getting drunk at a bar. I gave her my number and told her to call me when she needed help."

"Dad, she needs professional help, not you." I looked down at my hands, feeling overwhelmed by all of it.

"You can't make someone get help if they don't want it," he put his hand on my arm, urging me to look in his eyes, "I can't abandon her."

"You can't abandon your family either." I pleaded with him through my eyes, trying to get him to understand. "Are you and mom getting divorced?"

"No, kid, no," he reached one of his hands across the table, taking one of mine, "We're just going through a tough spot, that's all. We've been through them before."

"But not one this big."

What I said hung in the air, neither one of us knowing how to respond to it. I felt sick, my skin crawling at his silence. What I said was true… and brought about a scary reality. Maybe they wouldn't know how to get through this. Maybe our picturesque family days were over.

Finally, he spoke, his voice full of emotion, "I am not going to let that happen."

"Dad, people who get divorced don't necessarily let it happen. Sometimes things beyond their control take over."

"You listen to me, Bella. I love you and your mother more than anything, and I will do whatever it takes to make sure that we stay together. Okay?" His eyes were becoming misty and red. I had never seen my dad cry before and it unnerved me more than anything.

"Okay." I nodded because I didn't know what else _to_ say. This situation was uncharted territory, like a planet that had yet to be explored. We had no idea what we would find at the end of this.

He looked at me with pleading eyes, "Please, try not to worry about this. Your mom and I will work it out."

"Okay, I'll try, but I can't make any promises."

He nodded his head, "Fair enough," he gave me a weak smile, "I love you, kid."

"I love you, too, Dad."

And that's how we left it.

After I had the talk with my dad, I went outside to think. So much had happened in such a short time that it was making my head spin. He told me not to worry about it, but telling me not to worry about it is like telling mom not to worry when I had pneumonia, it wasn't going to work. I couldn't help it, I was worried and there was nothing that I could do to change that, even if I wanted to.

I couldn't help that the first thought was them getting a divorce. More and more kids that I went to school had parents that were either divorced or separated. It was a harsh reality that happy homes like ours, with two parents, were becoming more and more a minority. And that scared me.

My parents loved each other, but that wasn't always enough. With some people nothing was enough. With some people, they were better off separate.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Alice riding into my driveway, haphazardly letting her bike fall on the cement. She came running over to me, excitedly.

"Oh my gosh. You will never believe what happened…." she stopped short, just looking at my face, the wind coming out of her sails. "What's wrong?" she took a seat beside me, putting a hand on my shoulder.

I sniffed, wiping away the tears that I hadn't realized had been falling. "My dad left in the middle night last night… to see another woman."

"What?" Shock and disbelief covered her face, "Did he come back?"

"Yeah, he was downstairs this morning when I came down. Apparently, it wasn't the first time that it had happened. My mom hasn't come out of their room at all today. He says that he isn't having an affair, that he's only trying to help her. But, I don't know."

"Oh." Was her only reply, her face still mystified at the news that my father had us in the middle of the night.

"What was it that you wanted to tell me?" I asked, feeling guilty that I made her excitement fade.

She waved a hand at me like it wasn't a big deal, "It's not important."

I stared her down, "It must have been important for you to come running over to tell me. It has to be better than my news." I didn't want her to feel like just because I had this going on, that what she had wasn't important.

"I went to Walmart, and I ran into Peter. He invited us to the river tomorrow. I understand if you don't want to go, I could go alone."

My brow furrowed, "It's kind of weird to have someone ask you out when your mom's around." I couldn't imagine Alice's mom letting her go to the river with Peter of all people.

"He didn't ask me out, and I was… alone." She looked at me sheepishly.

I stared at her for a moment, wondering what her mother would do if she ever found out, a smile of amusement coming to my face, "Your mom is going to kill you if she finds out that you went there alone."

"Will you come tomorrow?"

I was going to say no, but I couldn't do that to her. She obviously didn't want to go alone. "It has to be better than sitting around here, so yeah, I'll go with you." And that was true, anything had to be better than sitting around my house moping.

"Thanks, Bella."

She left after that, in a hurry to get home, and I watched her go, feeling jealous of her. Though, I was questioning why Peter had asked her, another reason why I had said yes. I wanted to make sure that she wasn't being duped. Just yesterday he wouldn't even look at her, and now he was inviting her to the river. What was up with that?

When I walked in the back door into the kitchen, I was surprised to see my mom was in there making a sandwich, still in her pajamas.

"Hi," I closed the door behind me.

She looked up at me with tired eyes, "Hi, sweetie."

"Did you and dad talk?" I went over to the counter, putting my hands-on top of the surface, watching as she put the other slice of bread on top of the other half of her peanut butter and jelly, cutting it diagonally.

"Yes, we did."

"And?" I was nervous, I needed to know what happened. Were they okay, were they not? I needed to know!

She stroked my cheek, "We're okay."

"Really?" I couldn't help the relief that flowed through my every being at that news. They were fine. Which meant that _we_ were fine. "Is it over?"

She picked up the plate from the counter, "Probably not, but we talked, so it should be better."

I couldn't help the uncomfortable flip my stomach did when she said that it probably wasn't over. It meant my dad wasn't done seeing Sue, and I wasn't sure how _I_ felt about that. I didn't like the idea that he was seeing another woman, even if he was just helping her. It felt like he was saying that she was more important than us. I couldn't help that I felt that way.

"Oh," I could even hear the disappointment in my voice.

Mom put her hand under my chin, "We're okay, Bella. Try to relax."

She left the kitchen, leaving me alone to process everything on my own. Was it ridiculous that I was still worried even though she wasn't?

 **A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter. See you in a couple of days.**


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